UCLA Library will welcome 20 top managers of academic libraries from across the nation for its 2024 UCLA Library Senior Fellows program. The biennial residential program, held in July, combines management perspectives, strategic thinking and practical and theoretical approaches to the issues confronting academic libraries, preparing fellows to pursue advanced leadership roles in the field.

“As a 2018 fellow, I value how much the UCLA Library Senior Fellows program intentionally built a cohort of not just good colleagues, but good friends and good advisors from across many different parts of the academic library landscape,” said Athena Jackson, the Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian. “The immersive experience and length of the program allowed for trust to be built and ideas to be shared candidly with a goal towards honing our skills as leaders and learners.”

More than 300 fellows have attended the program since its inception in 1982, and about 100 of its alumni have gone on to become library directors, including about 60 at Association of Research Libraries institutions.

“The UCLA Library Senior Fellows program has been nothing short of transformational for academic libraries,” said Janice Welburn, program director and a member of the 1999 cohort. “I am eager to welcome our new cohort to campus for a series of lectures, panels, workshops, and field trips and look forward to the lively debate, discussion and new friendships that will follow.”

Considered the longest-running leadership development program in the library profession, the UCLA Library Senior Fellows program is administratively hosted and generously supported by the UCLA Library.

The 2024 cohort will arrive on the UCLA campus July 8 for a three-week residential program. Cohort members are:

  • Michelle Armstrong, associate dean, Albertsons Library, Boise State University
  • Tamika Barnes, associate dean for Perimeter library services, Georgia State University
  • Nicole Branch, dean, University Library, Santa Clara University
  • Gina Costello, associate dean, technology initiatives and special collections, Louisiana State University
  • Shamella Cromartie, associate dean for organizational performance and administration, Clemson University Libraries, Clemson University
  • Michael DeMars, associate dean of public services, Cal State Fullerton
  • Kerri Goergen-Doll, associate dean of libraries, Oregon State University Libraries and Press
  • Adriana Gonzalez, senior associate dean, University of Arkansas
  • Mihoko Hosoi, associate dean for collections, research and scholarly communications, Penn State University
  • Alexia Hudson-Ward, associate director of research, learning and strategic partnerships, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries
  • Heather James, interim dean of library, Foley Library, Gonzaga University
  • Melissa Mallon, associate university librarian for teaching and learning, Vanderbilt University
  • Danianne Mizzy, dean of library services, Montclair State University
  • Katherine O’Clair, associate dean for academic services, Robert E. Kennedy Library, California Polytechnic State University
  • John P. Renaud, associate university librarian for research resources, UC Irvine
  • Alexandra Rivera, associate dean for diversity, inclusion and organizational development, Michigan State University Libraries
  • Sandy Rodriguez, associate dean of special collections and archives, University of Missouri-Kansas City
  • Lidia Uziel, associate university librarian for research resources and scholarly communication, UC Santa Barbara
  • Amy Warner May, associate director of scholarly resources, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
  • Roger Zender, associate university librarian, creation and curation services, Kelvin Smith Library, Case Western Reserve University